Parents' Concerns Addressed Regarding School Calendar

Candace Braun

Following concerns raised by parents regarding the 2005-2006 school calendar, Superintendent Judith Wilson sent out a letter to parents during spring recess which explains why the district felt the changes were necessary.

The concerns were raised at a meeting of the Princeton Regional Board of Education earlier this month.

Next year's calendar gives students a full week off during the second week in November, with three of the days devoted to professional development for district staff. It also moves back students' spring recess from the fourth week of March to the second week in April. School is scheduled to conclude on June 20, six days later than the 2004-2005 year.

Ms. Wilson explained to parents that holding staff development days in June after classes are finished, as has been done in recent years, "is a poor investment of tax dollars and professional time. There is no option for application of learning to the classroom and no opportunity for collegial dialogue as a follow-up to learning" with the current schedule.

The superintendent added that while in recent years the construction schedule has put pressure on the district to have students vacate the facilities earlier in June, that is no longer the case.

"The Board and I want a calendar that places top priority on instruction, meets contract parameters, maximizes the use of tax dollars, and, in the case of professional development days, provides for meaningful learning experiences for all of our staff members," Ms. Wilson concluded her letter.

The full calendar for the 2005-2006 school year is available for viewing on the district's Web site, at http://www2.prs.k12.nj.us/

In other news, Princeton High School, John Witherspoon Middle School, and Community Park Elementary School were recently recognized as benchmark schools by the state and the Business Coalition for Educational Excellence for their best practices as part of the Just for Kids program initiative.

Just for Kids-New Jersey provides comprehensive student performance information and practical educational best practice tools to support improved learning in New Jersey public schools. Each school is compared to the highest achieving schools in the state that are serving similar or more challenging student populations. These successful schools are studied and from this group of schools the best practices schools are chosen.